What Is God's Will For Me?

“I don’t know if I should marry <name>; what if he’s not the right one?”
“We don’t know whether we should buy a house or rent.”
“We don’t know which house we should choose.”
“We don’t know if it is the right time to have a child.”
“I don’t know if I should choose job #1, job #2, or just stay where I am.”
“I just don’t know...”

“I wish I knew what God’s will was for me.”

---------------

We sometimes ask questions that cannot be answered with certainty. Let me explain.

Suppose your preacher introduced his Sunday morning sermon topic as ‘The Will of God.’ Do you think he will be discussing your marriage? Your house? The timing of having children? Your job? (I think not.)

Sometimes we twist the meaning of the ‘will of God’ into ‘what God wants for me.’ The latter idea is closely akin to ‘what I hope God wants for me, because I know what I want.’

If you have learned from the Proverbs (the focus of many previous blogs), you already have your answer to the myriad of questions concerning life’s decisions: 

• Be wise. 
• Seek wise counsel and listen, even when it is different from what you want to hear.
• Pursue righteousness in all things.
• Pursue justice and fairness for others.
• Honor God; revere God.

We sometimes set ourselves up for doubt. We believe that we want God’s assistance when we already have our hearts set on our desires. Then when difficulties arise after having made a decision, we doubt God’s help.

Reality check: There will be difficulties regardless of the decisions you make, even if God were to send you a message by way of an angel telling you what to decide. If you think that God’s assistance is the assurance of easy living, you haven’t been reading your Bible.

Now...STOP thinking about yourself!

   Commit your works to the LORD, 
   And your plans will be established.
   --Proverbs 16:3

This proverb does not mean, that you should make ‘your’ plan and then dedicate it to God. That is still ‘your’ plan.

The Hebrew word translated ‘commit’ literally means to ‘roll.’ When used in this context it gives the image of ‘rolling’ something (your works) into the presence of the Lord. It conveys the idea of surrendering your works to him. So, ultimately by surrendering your works to God, you are adopting as 'your will' that which you already know to be God's will. In other words, God's will becomes your will, instead of the other way around.

God’s will, his desire for mankind (and you specifically), is revealed in scripture. Simply stated, God desires the salvation of your soul. He wants you to be fully devoted to him so that you can obtain eternal life and fellowship with Him.

Set in that context you should see with clarity whether you should marry <name>.
Set in that context, you should see with clarity the real importance of houses and jobs and the timing of having children.

Make His will the center of your desire. 
Then your plans will revolve around the will of God. 
Then they will be set (established), as if etched in stone.